Photo mat with alignment grid and method of using the same

ABSTRACT

A photo mat includes a base, a grid, and at least one adhesive strip. The base includes a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base. The grid and the at least one adhesive strip are disposed on the rear surface of the base, and the grid includes a first plurality of parallel lines and a second plurality of parallel lines that are generally perpendicular to each other.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to photo mats for displaying graphic materials and, more specifically, to photo mats having an alignment grid for aligning the graphic materials to the photo mat, and a method of using the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Mountings for photos and, more particularly, photo mats for mounting pictures in frames, are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,024,553 discloses a mount for photographs having a back panel and a mounting panel. The back panel includes indices and adhesive strips to locate and adhere the photo on the back panel. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,423 discloses a self-sticking page for photo albums, production scheduling charts, presentation pages, advertising layouts and the like. The self-sticking page includes a board or support member having a pair of transparent sheets associated therewith.

In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,770 discloses materials and a method for mounting a picture in accurate relation on a sheet of mount material and providing a mat with a picture viewing opening of the correct size to frame the picture and provide the proper overlap of the mat onto the edges of the picture adjacent the picture viewing opening, thereby making a neat mounted and matted picture. The mount is provided with coordinate guide means marking equal distance intervals extending horizontally and vertically in opposite directions from intersecting horizontal and vertical axes through a selected central point on said mount, identifying means for selected of said coordinate guide means, and a sheet of mat material having coordinate guide means and identifying means similar to the coordinate guide means and identifying means on said mount for use as guides in cutting the picture viewing opening through the mat material, the coordinate guide means and identifying means on said mat material corresponding to the coordinate guide means and identifying means on said mount being closer to said horizontal and vertical axes by the amount of the desired overlap of the mat onto the edges of the picture at the edges of the picture viewing opening.

In yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,933 discloses a picture framing system for mounting, displaying and protecting a photograph or work of art on a vertical surface of ferrous metal, non-ferrous metal, or a non-metallic surface without using nails. The picture framing system includes a sleeve or pocket-type photograph holder which can be used with various styles of mats and picture frames for mounting, displaying, and protecting the photograph against the flat vertical surface, such as a refrigerator door or dining room wall. The picture framing system includes a flexible sheet having an adhesive front surface for attachment to the photograph holder and a magnetized rear surface for permitting the attachment of either type of photograph holder to a ferrous metal surface. The picture framing system also includes a flat, flexible ferro-magnetic sheet having a front magnetically-attractive surface and a rear adhesive surface for allowing either type of photograph holder and the picture frame to be mounted on a non-ferrous metal surface or any non-metallic surface. In addition, the picture framing system includes a centering tool for centering the photograph or art work on the mat and within the sleeve or pocket-type photograph holder and also within the picture frame.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a photo mat including a base, a grid, and at least one adhesive strip is disclosed. The base includes a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base. The grid is disposed on the rear surface of the base and includes a first plurality of parallel lines and a second plurality of parallel lines that are generally perpendicular to each other. The at least one adhesive area is disposed on the rear surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a display device including a photo mat and a frame adapted to receive the photo mat is disclosed. The photo mat includes a base, a grid, and at least one adhesive strip. The base includes a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base. The grid is disposed on the rear surface of the base and includes a first plurality of parallel lines and a second plurality of parallel lines that are generally perpendicular to each other. The at least one adhesive area is disposed on the rear surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method of positioning an image on a photo mat is disclosed. The method includes aligning the image to at least one grid located on a rear surface of the photo mat, wherein the grid is aligned to an opening in the photo mat. The method further includes adhering the image to at least one adhesive area located on the rear surface of the photo mat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a rear isometric view of one exemplary embodiment of a photo mat, constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is rear plan view of the photo mat of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial rear plan view of the photo mat of FIG. 1, with emphasis on the grids;

FIG. 4 is a rear isometric view of the photo mat of FIG. 1, with a photo partially attached thereto;

FIG. 5 is a front isometric view of the photo mat of FIG. 1 in a picture frame; and

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a photo album having album pages implementing photo mats of the present disclosure.

While the method and device described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings and with specific reference to FIG. 1, a photo mat is generally depicted by reference numeral 20. As shown therein, the photo mat 20 in this one exemplary embodiment includes a base 21, an opening 22, and a grid 24, and one or more adhesive areas 26 disposed on a rear surface of the base 21. A user may attached an image or picture 28 to the photo mat 20 with the image of the pictures aligned with and viewable through the opening 22, and may then display the picture 28 on the photo mat 20 in a frame, or the like.

The photo mat 20, as seen in FIG. 1, may be constructed from a paper, cardboard, wood, metal, chipboard/mat board, ceramic, leather, glass, poly-resin, magnetic material, etc., or any combination thereof. The base 21 may include a front surface 30, a rear surface 32, and a perimeter.

The base 21, as seen in FIG. 2, may have one or more edges depending on the shape of the photo mat 20. For example, in this exemplary embodiment, the base 21 has a generally rectangular shape and, as such, includes an upper edge 34, a lower edge 36, a first side edge 38, and a second side edge 40, wherein the upper and lower edges 34, 36 are substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the first and the second edges 38, 40. The shape of the base 21 may, however, be round, square, triangular, oval, odd shaped or a combination thereof, and may, therefore, have a corresponding number of edges.

In one exemplary embodiment, the opening 22 may be located near a center of the photo mat 20, but the opening 22 may be located anywhere in the perimeter of the photo mat 20. The opening 22, like the perimeter of the photo mat 20, may have one or more edges which may correspond to the shape of the perimeter. In this exemplary embodiment, the opening 22 has a generally rectangular shape and, as such, includes an upper edge 42, a lower edge 44, a first side edge 46, and a second side edge 48, wherein the upper and lower edges 42, 44 are substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the first and second side edges 46, 48. The shape of the opening 22 may, however, be round, square, triangular, oval, odd shaped or a combination thereof, and may, therefore, have the corresponding number of edges.

The grid 24, as seen in FIG. 2, includes a plurality of first lines oriented parallel to each other, and may include a plurality of second lines oriented parallel to each other and perpendicular to the plurality of first lines. The grid 24 is oriented and aligned relative to the photo mat 20 and/or portions thereof, to enable the alignment of the image 28 relative to the opening 22. The grid 24 may be located anywhere on the rear surface 32 of the photo mat 20 and, as in this exemplary embodiment, may be locate near two edges of the opening 22. More specifically, the grid 24 may be located on opposite edges of the opening 22 and, as such, may be located near the top edge 42 and the bottom edge 44 of the opening 22. The grid 24, when disposed in more than one area of the photo album 20 may be located at a substantially similar, if not equal, position relative to the opening 22 and/or the perimeter of the base 21. For example, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first grid section 24 a is located in the same position relative to the upper edge 42 as a second grid 24 b is positioned relative to the lower edge 44. As such, the first set of lines or the second set of lines of the first and second grid sections 24 a, 24 b will align along a first axis, and the other of the first and second set of lines will be equally spaced from the edges 42, 44 and be parallel to each other. The grid 24 may be printed on the photo mat 20, but may be placed on the photo mat 20 by many other means. For example, the grid 24 may be on a sticker that is placed on the photo mat 20, the grid 24 may be stitched on the photo mat 20, and/or the grid 24 may be part of the one or more adhesive areas 26.

The grid 24 may, however, be adapted to function with photo mats having various shapes and configurations. For example, the grid 24 may be disposed on the rear surface 32 of a photo mat and/or opening 22 that is round, square, triangular, oval, odd shaped or a combination thereof. Similarly, the grid 24 may have such shapes and configurations to align an other than four sided image to the opening 22.

The one or more adhesive areas 26, as seen in FIG. 2, may include double-sided tape, a sticky surface, and/or any other type of adhesive or adhesion method that may allows for the repositioning of the image 28 intended to be attached to the adhesive areas 26. In this exemplary embodiment, the adhesive areas 26 are a pair of multi use adhesive strips 26 that allow the user to place, remove, and replace the image 28 on the adhesive areas 26 multiple times with out greatly reducing the adhesive properties of the adhesive areas 26, and without damaging the image 28. The adhesive areas 26 may be located anywhere on the rear surface 32 of the photo mat 20, and as in this exemplary embodiment, may be locate near two edges of the opening 22. More specifically, the adhesive areas 26 may be located on opposite edges of the opening 22 and, as such, may be located near first side edge 46 and the second side edge 48 of the opening 22.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the photo mat 20 may be a page, or a part of the page, in a photo album 60, as seen in FIG. 6. The photo album 60 may include a body 62 having a front cover 64 and rear a cover 66, and a binding mechanism 68. The photo mat 20 may be disposed between the front and rear covers 64, 66, and the binding mechanism 68 may be a perfect bind, or any other mechanism able to attach the photo mat 20 to the body 62. For example, the binding mechanism 68 may include, but is not limited to, a ring and hole mechanism, a hook and loop mechanism, a clip, and the like.

For reasons of clarity and brevity, the following operation will be described while referring to a photo mat 20 having the pair of grids 24 a, 24 b and a pair of adhesive areas 26 a, 26 b located near the opening 22 as described previously, but may be used with any number of grids 24 and adhesive areas 26 located anywhere on the rear surface 32 of the photo mat 20.

In operation, as seen in FIG. 4, the user depending on the construction of the adhesive areas 26 may remove a backing or cover 50 from the adhesive areas 26 to expose a tacky, sticky or otherwise adhesive surface. The user may then align the image 28 to the grid 24 prior to adhering the image 28 to the adhesive areas 26. In one exemplary embodiment, the user may align the image 28 to the opening 22 and/or the perimeter of the base 21, by aligning an upper portion 52 of the image 28 to the first grid section 24 a, and aligning a lower portion 54 of the image 28 to the second grid section 24 b. In doing so, the user may place the upper portion 52 on a corresponding area of the grid 24 a, as the lower portion 54 is placed on the grid 24 b.

The image 28 may be adhered to the photo mat 20 by then pressing the image 28 against the adhesive areas 26 a and 26 b. If desired, the user may remove the image 28 from one or more of the adhesive areas 26 by simply pulling the image 28 from the adhesive areas 26, and may reposition or replace the image 28 as described previously. The photo mat 20, after and/or before the image 28 is placed thereon, may be disposed into a display device, such as a frame 50, as seen in FIG. 5. As such, the image 28 may be aligned to the photo mat 20, and the photo mat 20 and/or the image 28 may be aligned to the frame 50.

While the above has been described with reference to specific examples which are intended to be illustrative only and not to be limiting of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that changes, additions or deletions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A photo mat comprising: a base having a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base; a grid disposed on the rear surface having a first plurality of parallel lines, and a second plurality of parallel lines, wherein the first plurality of parallel lines are generally perpendicular to the second plurality of parallel lines; and at least one adhesive area disposed on the rear surface.
 2. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the base has one of a generally rectangular and a square shape.
 3. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the opening has one of a generally rectangular and a square shape.
 4. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the opening and the base have the same general shape.
 5. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of parallel lines are equally spaced from each other.
 6. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of parallel lines are equally spaced from each other.
 7. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the grid includes a first grid disposed adjacent a first edge of the opening and a second grid disposed adjacent a second edge of the opening, the first and second edges being generally parallel to each other.
 8. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein a first adhesive area is disposed adjacent a first edge of the opening and a second adhesive area is disposed adjacent a second edge of the opening, the first and second edges being generally parallel to each other.
 9. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the grid includes a first grid disposed adjacent a first edge of the opening and a second grid disposed adjacent a second edge of the opening, the first and second edges being generally parallel to each other, and a first adhesive area disposed adjacent a third edge of the opening and a second adhesive area disposed adjacent a fourth edge of the opening, the third and fourth edges being generally parallel to each other.
 10. The photo mat of claim 1, wherein the at least one adhesive area is constructed from a multi-use adhesive strip.
 11. A display device, comprising: a photo mat including a base having a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base, a grid disposed on the rear surface having a first plurality of parallel lines and a second plurality of parallel lines, wherein the first plurality of parallel lines are generally perpendicular to the second plurality of parallel lines, and at least one adhesive area disposed on the rear surface; and a frame adapted to receive the photo mat.
 12. The display device of claim 11, wherein the opening has one of a generally rectangular and a square shape.
 13. The display device of claim 1 1, wherein the opening and the base have the same general shape.
 14. The display device of claim 11, wherein the first plurality of parallel lines are equally spaced from each other.
 15. The display device of claim 11, wherein the second plurality of parallel lines are equally spaced from each other.
 16. The display device of claim 11, wherein the grid includes a first grid disposed adjacent a first edge of the opening and a second grid disposed adjacent a second edge of the opening, the first and second edges being generally parallel to each other, and a first adhesive area disposed adjacent a third edge of the opening and a second adhesive area disposed adjacent a fourth edge of the opening, the third and fourth edges being generally parallel to each other.
 17. A photo album, comprising: a body including a mechanism to receive a plurality of album pages; and at least one of the plurality of album pages including a base having a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base, a grid disposed on the rear surface having a first plurality of parallel lines and a second plurality of parallel lines, wherein the first plurality of parallel lines are generally perpendicular to the second plurality of parallel lines, and at least one adhesive area disposed on the rear surface.
 18. The photo album of claim 17, wherein the opening has one of a generally rectangular and square shape.
 19. The photo album of claim 17, wherein the first plurality of parallel lines are equally spaced from each other.
 20. The photo album of claim 17, wherein the second plurality of parallel lines are equally spaced from each other.
 21. The photo album of claim 17, wherein the grid includes a first grid disposed adjacent a first edge of the opening and a second grid disposed adjacent a second edge of the opening, the first and second edges being generally parallel to each other, and a first adhesive are disposed adjacent a third edge of the opening and a second adhesive area disposed adjacent a fourth edge of the opening, the third and fourth edges being generally parallel to each other.
 22. A method of displaying an image on a photo mat, comprising: providing at least one grid on a rear surface of the photo album, the grid having a first plurality of parallel lines and a second plurality of parallel lines, wherein the first plurality of parallel lines are generally perpendicular to the second plurality of parallel lines; aligning the image to the at least one grid, wherein the at least one grid is aligned to an opening in the photo mat; and adhering a front surface of the image to at least one adhesive area located on the rear surface of the photo mat.
 23. The method of positioning an image of claim 22, further including removing a backing from the adhesive area.
 24. The method of positioning an image of claim 22, further including aligning the image to a second grid portion located on the rear surface of the photo mat.
 25. The method of positioning an image of claim 22, further including adhering the front surface of the image to a second adhesive area located on the rear surface of the photo mat.
 26. The method of positioning an image of claim 22, further including placing the photo mat into a photo frame.
 27. The method of positioning an image of claim 22, further including placing the photo mat into a photo album as part of a page. 